S 471 
.P8 U4 
1901 
Copy 3 



AGRICI'LTURAL RESODRCES AND CAPABILITIES OF PORTO RICO. 




MESSAGE 



FROM THE 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



TRANSMITTING 



A REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES 
AND OAPABILITFES OF PORTO RICO WITH SPECIAL HEFER- 
EI^'CE TO THE KSTABLISIIMENT OF AN AGRICULTU- 
RAL EXPERIMENT STATION IN THAT ISLAND 



WASHINGTON: 

(iOVKKNMENT PKINTIN(f OFFTfK. 
1901. 



^.>. 



u^^ 






AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES OF PUHTO RICO. 



jr^4 



MESSAGE 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 



TRANSMITTING 



A REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES 
AND CAPABILITIES OF PORTO RICO WITH SPECIAL REFER- 
ENCE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AGRICULTU- 
RAL EXPERIMENT STATION IN THAT ISLAND. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1901. 






NOV 21 1906 
D. Ulr U. 



,56th Congress, ( HOUSP: OF liP^PKESENTATIVES. \ Document 
f ] No. 171. 



AGRICULTURAJ. RESOURCES AND (^APAJiD.lTIES OF 
PORTO RICO. 



MESSAGE 

FROM THE 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

THAiNSMITTINfi 

A REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RE- 
SOURCES AND CAPABILITIES OF PORTO RICO WITH SPECIAL 
REFERENCE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION IN THAT ISLAND. 



December U, 1900. — Message ^rid'accompanying papers ordered printed and re- 
ferred to the Committee on Insular Affairs. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

I transmit herewith a report on investigations of the agricultural 
resources and capabilities of Porto Rico with special refercMice to tlie 
establishment of an agricultural experiment station in that island, 
made in accordance with the act of Congress making appropriations 
for the Department of Agriculture for the liscal year ending .Tune 
30, 1901. 

AViLLIAH .McKlNLEY. 

Executive Mansion, December lo, lOoo. 



LETTER OP" TRANSMITTAL. 

United States Department of AciRicuLTURE, 

Office of the Secretary, 
Washiiigfon, D. C, Decembers, lUOO. 
Sir: I have the lionor to transmit herewith a rej^ort on the agricul- 
tural resources and capabilities of Porto Rico Avith special reference to 
the establishment of an agricultural experiment station in that island, 
made in compliance with the act of Congress making appr()i)riations 
for this Department for the fiscal year ending .Tune .)(», 1!H)1. The 
Investigations have, in m}'' judgment, shown the desirability and feasi- 
bility of maintaining an agricultural experiment station in Porto Rico, 



2 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF I'oKTO RICO. 

and I earnestly reeoniiiiend that provision Ix? made by Congress for tlie 
establishment of sueh a station in the Ten-it ory on a pei-manent and 
efficient basis in accordance with the recoiiimcn<hi1ions of tlie Director 
of the Ofllce of Experiment Stations, herewith submitted, and that an 
appropriation be made for this purpose equal to that which is given 
for the maintenance of similar stations elsewhere in the United States. 
T have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

James Wilson, Secretary. 
The President. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 

Office of Experiment Stations, 
Washington, D. C, December 5, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the agricul- 
tural conditions in Porto Rico with special reference to the establish- 
ment of an agricultural experiment station in that island. This inves- 
tigation was made in accordance with the terms of the appropriation 
act for this Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1001, which 
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to "investigate and report to 
Congress on the agricultural resources and capabilities of Porto Rico 
with special reference to the selection of locations for agricultural 
experiment stations and the determination of the character and extent 
of agricultural experiments immediately demanded by the condition 
of agriculture in that island." As the agent to make this investiga- 
tion. Prof. S. A. Knapp, formerly of the Iowa Agricultural College 
and more recently engaged in agricultural enterprises in southern 
Louisiana, was appointed special agent in charge of agricultural 
investigations in Porto Rico and sent to that island about the middle 
of June, 1900, with the following instructions: 

The following subjects should be included in your investigations: 

(1) The general agricultural conditions existing in Porto Rico and the neces- 
sary and feasible measures for the improvement of these conditions. 

(2) The lines of experimental investigations which should be undertaken in 
Porto Rico, and especially those which should be undertaken in the immediate 
future. As far as practicable, the scope, extent, and cost of the experimental 
inquiries immediately demanded should be determined, 

(3) The locations suitable for agricultural experiment stations in Porto Rico, 
including a main station with laboratories, farm buildings, and experimental 
tields, and outljnng stations, Avhosework shall consist of field, garden , and orchard 
experiments and experiments with domestic animals. 

(4) The buildings, land, and eijuipment required for the proper maintenance 
of agricultural investigations in Porto Rico on the plan indicated in section 3. 
Careful estimates should be made regarding the cost of the buildings, land, and 
equipment needed to inaugurate the work of the experiment station in the island, 
with special reference to the sum reqiiired for these purposes during the tiscal 
year (>nding June 30, i;)(l2. The methods of aciiuiring real estate for the use of 
the station shduld also be investigated. 

(5) The needs of the agricultural people of Porto Rico as regards information 
on agricultural subjects, and the best means for supplying them with this infor- 
mation by publications, oral instruction, and demonstration experiments, or 
otherwise. 

(()) The desirability and feasibility of securing the cooperation of the residents 
of Porto Rico in Hk; conduct of experimental imiuiries and the dissemination of 
agricultural information; the desirability and feasibility of including instruc- 
tion in agricultural subjects in the curriculum of the schools of Porto Rico. 

(7) The facilities ior preparing, printing, publishing, and distributing in Porto 
Jlicp circulars of inquiry and bulletins of information on agricultural subjects in 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 3 

the English and Spanish languages, and the best ways of securing the preparation 
and dissemination of such information in printed form. 

(8) The cost of inaugurating and maintaining agricultural investigations and 
disseminating information (exclusive of the buildings, land, and equipment) in 
a manner similar to that of an agricultural experiment station in one of the 
United States liaving an area approximating that of Porto Rico. An estimate 
should lie made with special reference to the cost of maintaining such work during 
the single fiscal year ending June ;30, 1902. 

Professor Ktuipp's report of bis investigations is submitted liere- 
witb. In tbis report tbe need of experiment-station work in Porto 
Ric;o is pbiinly sbown, and it is recommended tbat a station sbould be 
establisbed witb beadquarters in tbe vicinity of San Juan. Tbis sta- 
tion sbould give immediate attention to promoting tbe production of 
larger and better crops of coffee, sugar, and tobacco, and of food 
prodiyj^s for borne consumption. As soon as practicable it sliould 
undertake work in bortlculture, forestry, animal busbandry, and 
dairying. Besides conducting experiments, it sbould give object les- 
sons in improved farming and sbould disseminate information by pub- 
lications and agricultural meetings. In tbese recommendations of 
Professor Knapp I beartily concur. In my judgment an agricul- 
tural experiment station sbould be immediately^ establisbed in Porto 
Rico on tbe same general plan as tbat pursued elsewbere in tbe United 
States. 

Land sbould be obtained in tbe vicinity of San Juan on wbicb to 
erect office, laboratory, and farm buildings and to conduct experi- 
ments. A competent man sliould be appointed to act as tbe cbief 
executive officer of tbe station, plan and supervise its operations, and 
begin tbe organization of a staff of scientific and practical men to con- 
duct investigations in various lines and instruct tbe people in improved 
metbods of agriculture. It will be best to limit tbe work of tbe sta- 
tion at tbe outset to a few main lines, wbicb will require tbe services 
of only a small staff, and develop tbe organization of tbe working corps 
as tbe station becomes more fully establislied and tbe way is opened 
for tbe extension of its work. As the station will not have tbe aid of 
an agricultural college already" equipped witb buildings and land, as lias 
been the case with most of tbe stations established in tbe United States, 
it will be necessary at tbe outset to devote a considerable amount of 
money to its equipment. AVitbout doubt as much will be requii-ed for 
the current expenses involved in the proi)er maintenance of an (»xperi- 
ment station in Porto Rico as is the case elsewhere in tlie United 
States. I can see no good reason why an appropriation of 115,000 a 
year sbould not be given to Porto Rico for the maintenance of an 
experiment station as well as to the other Territories of the United 
States, and I hope tbat Congress will make the first approi)riation of 
this kind during its present session. For the purchase of land and the 
erection of buildings tbe station sbould Innc in addition an initial 
fund of ^15,000. In the case of the other Territoi-ies such expenses 
have been lai-gely provided for by the local governments, and I think it 
would be well if tbis plan could be followed in Porto Rico, a portion of 
the revenues of the island being set aside for this purpose by the 
action of Congress or the Territorial legislature. 

Authority should be given tlie Secretary of Agriculture in the 
appropriation act to establish and maintain an agricultural experi- 
ment station in Porto Rico, including tbe purchase of land, tbe erec- 
tion of buildings, the printing (in Porto Rico), illustration and distri- 
bution of reports and bulletins in the English and Spanish languages, 



4 AGKICULTUEAL EESOURCES, ETC. , OF PORTO KICO. 

and Mil other expenses essential to the maintenance of said station. 
Half of the first appropriation should be made immediately available. 
Verv respectfully, 

A. C. True, Director. 
IIou. James Wilson, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 



Lake Charles, La., September 22, 1900. 
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith my report on the investi- 
gations regarding the agricultural conditions existing in Porto Rico, 
with special reference to the establishment of an agricultural experi- 
ment station in that island, made under your instructions dated June 
11, 1900. I arrived at San Juan June ID, 1900, and immediately com- 
menced my observations on the agricultural conditions and capabili- 
ties of the island. I traveled by private conveyance over 350 miles in 
the rural districts, and was everj^where cordially met by the farmers 
and given every facility for obtaining the information desired. 
Respectfully, 

Seaman A. Knapp, 
Special Agent in Charge of Agricultural 

Livestigations in Porto Rico.. 
Dr. A. C. True, 

Director of Office of Expefiinent Stations. 



ArxRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES OF 
I'ORTO RICO. 



General Statement. 

The island of Porto Rico is situated in latitude 18° north and lies 
in the direct line of trade between New York and South America. 
In a general way it may l)e described as about 100 miles long- and 
36 miles wide, and has an area, including its dependencies — the 
islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona — of 3,530 to 3,8<')0 square 
miles. The whole island may be classed as mountainous except a 
border on tlie seacoast and numerous interior valleys. The moun- 
tains are not in bold and forbidding ranges, but consist of an endless 
variety of immense segregated and fertile hills, with interspersed 
valleys, in an ascending series, but without special order, from the 
north coast to two-thirds the distance across the island, where the 
hills attain an elevation of 1,500 to 2,500 feet, and the valleys, manj^ 
of which are of considerable extent, are from 500 to 1,500 feet above 
the sea. 

Climate. 

The temperature of the island is tropical, but is so modified by alti- 
tude and ocean winds that extreme heat or cold is never experienced. 
Cold never reaches the frost line and rarely drops below O-t" F., while 
91° is usuallj' the extreme of heat in a season, and that only foi- a 
short period. As the temperature is largely modified by tlie winds 
from tlie ocean, and especially by the trade winds, considerable varia- 
tion is found in different i^ortions of tlie island, it being waniiei- where 
the trade winds are shut off by mountains. A much greater differ- 
ence is ol)servable in the rainfall. Some sections are ordinarily deficient 
in rainfall; in others it is very heavy. 

In a recent rei)()it on the water resources of Porto Rico, II. M. Wilson * 
states "that all the crops whicli tlie soil will produce can be grown 
over three-foui-ths of the extent of the island with the aid of the abun- 
dant rainfall alone. The other one-fourth, including all the region 
near the coast and from Cabo Ro.jo on the extreme west to beyond 
Guayama on the east, must be irrigated if the soil is to produce the 
full measure of crojjs of which it is capable. The total area of these 
irrigable lands is, however, I'elatively small." 

The weekly crop bulletin issued by the Weather IJureau of this 
Department, San Juan, P. R., June 18, 1900, confirms the above 
statement. 



Water Supply and Irrii?. Pai»ers, U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 32, p. 28. 

6 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 



Temperature and rainfall for the week ending June IS, 1900. 



City. 


Temper- 
ature. 


Rainfall. 


Arecibo - 


"F. 
78.4 
80.4 
80.0 
79.2 
79.8 
77.2 
80.8 
80.2 
80.4 
80.3 
80.9 
83.9 
81.4 


Inches. 
1.65 


Manati 


.58 




1.22 




1.90 




4.37 


Cidra . 


3.40 




3.19 




6.52 




4.72 




4.20 




.30 




1.48 




1.33 







The above being a report for one week does not indicate the relative 
rainfall for the year at the different points, but it shows how unequally 
the rainfall is liable to be distributed in a given period. It is said 
that the rainfall was much more equal when the summits of the 
mountains were well wooded. An article by Prof. Mark A\^. Harring- 
ton, of the United States Weather Bureau (in U. S. Treasury Doc. 
2118), is instructive: 

The published observations of Porto Rico are very scanty, consisting of a total 
of about nine years at San Juan only, and these are fragmentary, being scattered 
through twenty years. They show a true tropical climate, with a high mean 
temperature (78.9 F.) and very little difference in season, except in rainfall. 
The coldest month on the average is February (75.7 ) and the hottest, June (Sl.5 ), 
but December to March are very much alike in temperature, and so are the months 
from June to September. The very coldest month on record is January. 1895 
(70 ). and the very warmest is June, 1878 (8G ). The average change from the 
coldest to the hottest is only (5 , but this is very appreciable to one who has lived 
long in the Tropics. The cool months really seem to the natives to be decidedly 
cold, requiring additional covering on the bed and heavier clothing. The coldest 
temperature on record in San Juan is 57.2 on a day in January, 1894. The very 
hottest on record is 108 on a day in May. 1878. The absolute range of tempera- 
ture observed is therefore between 4:3 and 44 . The iormer temperature is far 
above frost, but would seem to the natives very cold and wouM check the growth 
of tropical plants. The latter would seem very hot. for the air of San Juan is 
very moist and the evaporation of perspiration is slow. 

The comfort of San Juan as a place of residence, not to mention its healthful- 
ness, is very much increased by the "briza,"' which is not given in the public 
reports. It is the northeast trade wind which has been turned toward the west, 
until the "briza'" comes (juite regularly from the east. It is not felt much during 
the day, 1)ut springs up late in the afternoon and lasts through the evening. It is 
a soft, gentle Irreeze. laving the body and giving an effect which is most fresh and 
delightful. It has a regularity approaching that of the sun, and Santurce and 
Cataiio, two suburl)s of the capital, get it both more strongly and through a larger 
part of the twenty-four liours. At Catano it may be felt until the middle of the 
forenoon, and begins again in the mid afternoon. At Santurce it makes the nights 
positively cool. 

The year at San Juan is divided into the dry season and the wet season: but the 
dry season has about as much rainfell as the Northeastern States, and the wet 
season more than twice as much. The dry season embraces the months from 
December to March, with a rainfall of 10 or 11 inches. It is the most attractive 
season of the year, relativel.v dry and cool. It is the proper season for the visits 
of Northerners to San Juan, and winter residents would find its climate very 
gentle, miid, and safe. The wet season embraces the other eight months in the 
year, and has a rainfall of 48 to 49 inches, or more than the whole of the year for 
the most of the United States. The total raiTifall at San Juan is nearly GO inches, 
and tlie culmination is in November, when an average of nearly 8 inches falls. 

The rainfall is not excessive. It is equaled in many places in the Southern States 
and m the northern part of the Pacific coast, and is surpassed in many places. It 
is less significant from the ease with which the rain comes down. There are no 
threatenings of storms for days beforehand. There is little wind and little light- 



AGKICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 



nine:- Rainy days are rare, but rainy afternoons or evenings — for an hour or two — 
common. The rain begins suddenly, falls heavily, and endssDon. There is no 
impression of rainy climate, except that everything seems constantly fresh and 
clean. 

The healthfulness of San Juan is the greatest of any city in the West Indies. 
Yellow fever is never at home here, and when imported it rarely, if ever, 
spreads. * * * 

The climate of the rest of the island is much like that of San Juan, with modifi- 
cations due to elevation above the sea and to changes in the '"briza" due to the 
topography. The change of the temperature with elevation is relatively rapid 
here, being approximately 4 of temperature to every 1 ,000 feet. 

Now. Mount Yunque, at the northeastern part of the island, is, according to the 
chief of the department of engineers of the island, about G.OOO feet high, and its 
summit would have a mean temperature as low as that of many j^laces in the States. 
Besides, elevations of 2.000 feet are not unusual for towns: snow apparently never 
falls upon the islands, but hoarfrosts are reported as occasional in high places. 
Several towns of some size in the interior have a popular reputation as being cold — 
Cayey, Adjuntas, and Utuado. That black frosts do not occur, however, is evi- 
dent from the fact that the banana grows freely up to at least 2,000 feet, and is 
very sensitive to frost. 

There appear to be three mountain ridges running from end to end in the island, 
but the central is the commanding one, and the elesations are, on the whole, high- 
est toward the eastern end, and especially at the northeastern angle. The result 
is that the " briza" most wets and refreshes the eastern end of the island, and the 
rainfall changes greatly from point to point. Judging by Jamaica, of which the 
climate has been carefully studied, the heaviest rainfall is in the northeast, and it 
may here in places amount to 100 inches annually or more. In Jamaica it is 
known to surpass 200 inches in some places, and El Yunque. as seen from San 
Juan, is very generally capped l)y a rain cloud. The interior valleys of the island 
are relatively dry, while the northern and eastern mountain slopes are wet. 

The following .suminary, tfikeu from the Uuited States \Veatlier 
Bureau report for Porto Rico, shows the temperature, rainfall, ckuidy 
and clear days, and wind velocit}' at San Juan for one year: 

Summary for twelve months. 



November, 1898 . 
December. 1898. 
January, 1899 — 
February, 1899. 

March, 1899 

April, 1899 

May, 1899 

June, 1899 

July, 1899 

August, 1899 .... 
September. 1899 
October, 1899 ... 



November, 1898.. 
December, 1898.. 
January, 1899 — 
February, 1899. . . 

March, i:s99 

April, 1S99 

May, I8'.ft 

June, 1899 

July, 1899 , 

August, 1899 

Septemi)er, 1899 . 
October, 1899 .... 



Highest 
tempera- 
ture. 



Least 
daily 
range. 



Cloudy 
days. 



Lowest I 
tempera-] Date, 
ture. 



Partly 
cloudy 
days. 



Clear 
days. 



F. 
77.3 
75.9 
74. « 



Inches. 

12. (»8 
5.34 
3.92 
.80 
3.29 

u.on 

3.59 
7.3:} 
7.5:1 
10.38 

i:i.6« 

10.21 



Greatest 
daily 
range. 



Maxi- 
mum vt 
locity 



' Also 19. 
•■< Also 28. 



3 Also 7, 
* Also 4, 



» Also 8. 27, 28. 
" Beginning Nov, 



Eighth, east. 
Miles per hour. 



8 agkicultural resources, etc., of porto rico. 

Soils. 

Near the ocean the soil is quite sandy, merging into a sandy loam a 
short distance inland and gradually changing into a clay loam as the 
hills are approached. This is generally but not universally the case. 
Sometimes a spur of the mountain projects into the ocean and carries 
its soil conditions to the water's edge. Occasionall}^ there are tracts 
of gravelly soil, but all very fertile as far as observed. The soil along 
thelarger streams is a deep, rich, sandj- loam, merging into a clay loam 
near the hills and frequently extends to the top of the hills and minor 
mountains, rendering them so fertile that they produce excellent crops 
of sugar cane. The soil of the mountains is a peculiar ferruginous 
clay, which readily disintegrates when exposed to the air, and under 
the influence of tropical heat and moisture furnishes an abundant 
supply of plant food. Bananas and coffee grow luxuriantly on the 
mountain sides, more than 2,000 feet above the sea level. Limestone 
is abundant in all jDortions of the island and more or less affects the 
soils, producing on the mountains a slightly calcareous soil. A green- 
sand marl, similar in appearance to that of New Jersey and rich in 
phosphates, is, according to Wilson,^ " found extensively in the north- 
western portion of tlie island, between Lares and San Sebastian, and 
also in the neighborliood of Carolina, at the northeastern extremity of 
the island." The division of soils for taxation by General Henrj^ in 
his Order No. 6, dated January 19, 1899, throws some light on the \fay 
soils are classified. It is as follows : 

LANDS AS CLASSIFIED FOR TAXATION. 

(1) The assessment of taxes upon lands will hereafter be made in accordance 
with the various cultivations existing in tlie island and the quality of the land 
taxed. 

(2) In accordance with the various cultivations there will be taxes on cane 
lands, coffee lands, tobacco lands, pasture lands, minor-produce lands, and forest 
lands. 

(d) In accordance with the quality of the land there will be taxes of the first, 
second, and third classes— the first class comprising the best lands, the second class 
the next best, and the third class the poorest. 

(4) On all lands of the first class there will be a tax of 1 peso per cuerda (acre); 
on all lands -of the second class a tax of 0.50 peso per cuerda; on all lands of the 
third class a tax of CSo peso per cuerda. 

(5) Each municipal corporation will appoint a classifying commission, which 
will select commissioners in the different districts of each township, the subcom- 
missioners to report to the classifying commission on the class of lands in their 
respective districts. 

((3) These commissioners will be guided by the following instructions: 

First-class cane lands are plains and valleys and other alluvial lands lying near 
settled commniiities. highways, railroads, find seaports, and the lands of drained 
lagoons and mangrove marshes. 

Second-class cane lands are the highland plains, generally surcharged with oxids 
of iron, and known in the country as clayish lands. 

First-class coffee lands are valley lands and hills abounding in organic detritus. 

Second-class coffee lands are highlands having a calcareous or limy formation. 

First-class tobacco lands are valley lands watered by rivers. 

Second-class tobacco lands are loamy highlands mixed with clay and sand. 
,. Tliird-class tobacco lands are sandy lands along the coast and calcareous lands 
among the hills. 

First-class pasture lands are valleys, lagoons, and glens, where grow "malojila" 
and guinea grass. 

Second-class pasture lands are those on the hills and those on the coast, where 
grow guinea and dog grass. 



Loc. cit., p. 33. 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. \) 

Third-class pasture lands are those along the coast and lime hills, where grow 
only brush, "rat-tail,"' sweet grass, etc. 

First-class minor-produce lands are valley lands. 

Second-class minor-produce lands are highlands. 

Third-class minor-produce lands are sandy and limy lands. 

First-class forest lands are those growing virgin forest whose timber can supply 
building and cabinet woods, o. g.. "aceitillo,"' "cedar,"' "capa,"' "au.subo,"' etc. 

Second-class forest lands are lands with a rocky and calcareous soil growing 
only bushes available for fuel. 

Renewal of Soil. 

While the soils of Porto Rico retain their fertility to a remarkable 
extent, they liave deteriorated in a measure nnder the effects of con- 
stant cropping without the use of manure. Like most tropical soils, 
they are deficient in humus, and this is particularl}' noticeable in old 
fields "turned out to rest." The Porto Ricans say that the land is 
"tired." It is further noticeable in the fact that the soil is too adhe- 
sive in wet periods, and too dry, with a tendency to "bake," in dry 
weather. That there is no deficienc}' of elements in the soil is shown 
by the large grass crops these old fields will produce. Cowpeas, velvet 
beans, and other renovating crops have enormously vigorous growth 
and furnish a ready means of supplying humus. In all parts of the 
island are caves with vast quantities of bat guano, which is a cheap 
and ready source of nitrogen. The large number of cattle and horses 
furnish considerable manure, easily obtained, because many cattle are 
herded on account of the absence of fences. 

Rivers and Drainage. 

Few countries are better drained than Porto Rico. It is claimed 
that there are over 1,200 streams in the island, of whieli 50 are rivers 
of considerable size. Springs are abundant in the mountain district 
and the water is pure. 

Tiiere are several mineral springs of value, such as the sulphur 
baths near Ponce, the mineral si)rings near Coamo and at San Sebas- 
tian and San Lorenzo, and the liot springs of Caguitas. 

Forestry. 

One of the most serious obstacles confronting the agriculturist in 
Porto Rico is the scarcity of timber and wood. Thei-e is pi-actically 
no accessible building limber. Occasionally a small log is brought 
from the intei-ior at gi-cat ('X])ens(> and sawed into boanls by hand. 
There is not a power sawmill in the interior of the island. Tliei-e are 
a few sawmills in the coast cities, mainly for sawing imported tim- 
ber. At Mayaguez one of these mills had a small stock of native logs. 
They were from 6 to 12 inches in diameter and S to 12 feet long, 
crooked and knotty. Tlie mill had a stock of four or five thousand feet 
of native lumber, in wliieh were a few tropical cedar boards, short 
but of superior ([uality. 

The principal lumbei- .sold in the coast cities is hard pine, which 
retails at 5^30 to ^iiSO per 1,()0(), depending upon tlu' (luality. This 
scarcity of timl)er accounts for many things. It rendeis it almost 
impossible to erect or maintain creditable farm buildings in the inte- 
rior, especially wliere there are no good roads. 1 1 renders it necessary to 
construct the cottages of the laborers of bark and poles. It precludes 
the fencing of the farms into suitable fields for keeping the variety of 



10 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

stock best adapted to the conditions and yielding the largest profits to 
the fanner. It accounts in part for only one-eighth of tlie arable land 
of the island l)eing under cultivation. The absence of timber on the 
mouiilaiiis is believed to affect in a large degree the amount and 
regularity of the rainfall. The records of historj^ and the samples of 
the woods i^reserved prove that Porto Rico at the time of its discov- 
ery had a wealth of timber unsurpassed by any island in the world. 
In the United States quartermaster's department at San Juan is the 
relic of an old Spanish military museum, which contains samples of 
PortoRican woods selected over fifty years since, from which Mr. Paul 
L. Hardy, engineer, made me a list of 150 varieties, with the uses for 
which they are valuable. Among them are found cabinet woods, as 
mahogany, satinwood, cedar, walnut, etc. ; other woods that are almost 
Indestructible in air or water, especially valuable for wharves. Many 
varieties are suitable for posts, fencing, and building purposes. That 
immediate steps should be taken to reforest the island to the extent of 
its own uses is self-evident, especially as there is plenty of idle land 
for this purpose. There is much government land in the mountains 
that can be profitably used for woodland, on which could be planted 
hard- wood trees of quick maturity for fuel and more durable woods 
for posts and building purposes. 

Farmhouses. 

The huts in which, farm laborers live are either in tent form, 10 by 

11 feet on the ground and 6 feet high at the ridge, made of poles and 
covered with the bark of the royal palm or with grass, with the ground 
for floor; or thej^ are made house fashion, 12 by 16 feet base, 5 to feet 
high at the eaves, sides and roof covered with palm bark, watli which 
the so-called windows are closed at night; rarely the roof is thatched 
with grass. In the vicinity of towns tlie sides are frequently made of 
boxes. Most of the huts built in house form stand on short posts and 
have a rough floor made of palm boards sawed by hand. Many of 
them have a small room, possibly 6 feet square, for cooking. In these 
small houses large families are raised. Sometimes more than one family 
reside in one house. There are rarely any gardens, flowers, or fruit, 
except the banana. The water is not always the best, and few make 
any effort to improve it. Under such circumstances it is impossible 
to liave comfort or good morals. The houses occupied by the proprie- 
tors or farm managers are generally fairly comfortable dwellings, occa- 
sionally of a superior type, according to the taste and wealth of the 
owner. 

Public Roads. 

In a country like Porto Rico there are no medium roads. They are 
eithei- good or so bad as to be impassable with a wagon. Unless a 
road is constructed of stone, thoroughly ditched and bridged, the tor- 
rents in the rainy season will wreck it. There are about 150 miles of 
first-class road, which were constructed b}^ the Spaniards at an aver- 
age cost of over '112,000 per mile (gold). These roads are a monu- 
ment to the science and thorough work of the Spanish engineers. 
Outside of these military highways transportation must mainly be by 
pack train. The cost of this in some seasons of the year operates as 
a complete embargo on marketing farm products. Landslides cover 
the trail, bridges have been swept away, and the sw^ollen streams are 
impassable at the fords. One person reported that he sometimes paid 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 11 

112.80 (gold) for an ox load — distance, 21 miles. To relieve the most 
important rural sections and to furnish labor to the i)easanls, deprived 
of labor by the destruction of the coffee plantations, the insular gov- 
ernment has undertaken to construct about 125 miles of first-class 
roads in the island. (See map. ) The construction of these roads will 
cost about 11,000,000. In addition, large sums have been exjjended 
in repairing the old military roads injured by the floods at the time 
of the hurricane. When theses are completed and dirt roads con- 
structed in sections not liable to torrents, nearly all portions of the 
island will be accessible. 

Lack of Manufactures. 

There are verj^ few manufactures in Porto Rico, except such as are 
the necessary adjuncts of a farm crop, to fit it for market — as cottee 
and sugar mills. Manufactures other than these are not sutticient to 
produce any material effect upon the general industi-ial situation. At 
the time of the American occupation they were limited to cigars, ciga- 
rettes, macaroni, chocolate, ice, matches, and rum. The cost for the 
initiative, or the privilege of starting the enterprise, was high; the 
permit was slow in coming, and sometimes never granted ; an enormous 
tax was placed upon the importation of all kinds of machinery, and, 
finally, the laws were so framed as to favor the Spanish merchant. 
For example, wheat and wheat flour had to pay a high duty when 
imported directly from the United States into Porto Rico, but they 
could be shipped to Spain and thence to Porto Rico free or at a nomi- 
nal duty. This benefited the millers of Spain and the manufacturers 
of biscuits, soup paste, and other products of flour. The following 
statement from the report of Dr. Henry K. Carroll {U. S. Treasury 
Dept., Doc. 2118), is in point: 

As between Spanish and Porto Rican producers and mannfacturers the latter 
liad no chances. Nor were tiie needs of Porto Rican consumers, however iirgent 
thtj' might appear from the insular point of view, treated as worthy of serious 
attention. Indispensable articles of food not produced in the island had to come 
in a roundabout way through the hands of the mtTchants in Spain or pay enor- 
mous duties if imported direct from other countries. The Porto Ricans thought 
that some of the many streams of the island might well furnish power to mills to 
grind wheat from the" United States or Canada into Hour, but the Government at 
Madrid punished these aspirations by making the duty on wheat almost as high as 
that on flour. Flour paid .§4 per sack of 1)2 kilos (about 200 pounds) and wheat 
S^).!"). and flour paid also, for municii)al i)urposes, a consumption tax of $'i.30. 
There were mills in Spain, and by importing wheat for them from the United 
States they could l)e kept going. The millers of Spain profited; the people of 
Porto Rico suffered. 

Attempts were made in the island to manufacture soup paste and crackers. 
The result is graphically described in the rejiort of the manuiacturers of Ponce, 
drawn up in 1«!)S for the use of Ihe colonial minister at Madrid and presented to 
the comm ssioner of the United States without chungc as the best statement pos- 
sible of the needs of the island. The cracker manufacturers had to pay the high 
duty on flour and compete with crackers from the Peninsula entered free of all 
duty. Those who invested largely in the manufacture of soup ]iaste saw their 
business killed in the same way. Their petition to the liberal minister, from 
which they hoped so much, is ])athetic in its pleadings for simple justice. Appeal 
after appeal was made, they say, but all " slept the sleep of the just "' (are pigeon- 
holed), for if ever a minister intende<i to cast a jiitying glance uj^on such injus- 
tice and relieve so much misfortune by some saving'measure this intention never 
materialized, but was strangled in its birth by the influences brought to bear by 
Spanish manufactuiers. 

The shoe manufacturers have the same story to tell: shoes imported free from 
Spain, shoes of the poorest <iuality—-' pasteboard soles, badly made, unsightly, 
coarse, and without durability "—while Porto Rican manufacturers were heavily 



12 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

taxed for the raw materials. Of course shoes are costly, and 700,000 out of the 
900,000 population yo bare-footed. It was the opinion of the industrialists that they 
could make better shoes and furnish them more clieaply than the Balearic Ishmd 
manufacturers, but they were not given the chance. They believed that the result 
of home manufacture would be to lower the prices, as in other instances, but com- 
petition with Spanish producers, when the latter had both the home and insnlnr 
markets, was Impossible. There are salt mines at Cabo Ro.jo, but salt from Siiain 
is free, and vessels loading with salt had to clear from Mayaguez, increasing the 
expenses of shipments, because the port of Cabo Rojo had been closed, so the salt 
industry was crippled. 

Those interested, or who would be glad to be interested, in the manufacture of 
soap show that while soap from Barcelona paid only the transitory duty of 10 per 
cent at the ports of the island, amounting to $15 for every hundred boxes of a 
hundredweight each, the insular industry is compelled to pay $33.83 in duties 
for the raw materials to make that quantity of soap. No wonder they ask, in 
despair. What business can succeed under such circumstances? 

Agriculture on Narrow Lines. 

Agriculture in Porto Rico is conducted on narrow lines. Sugar, 
coffee, tobacco, and cattle constitute almost the entire exports. In 
1897 the total agricultural exports amounted to 18,352,54:1 pesos (peso 
valued at 60 cents gold), and of this total, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and 
cattle furnished 18,133,682 pesos. 

Rural lauds are classified, as declared by their owners for assessment, 
as follows : 

Classiflcation of rural lands. 

Ciierdos (acres). 

Tobacco 4,364.07 

Sugar cane 61 , 558. 43 

Coffee 133,359.76 

Minor crops 93,511.08 

Cultivated grasses. - -. . 16,377.33 

Natural pasture 1,137,087.55 

Mountain lands and forests 664, 273. 37 

Total area of island 3,089,331.49 

SUGAR-CANE LANDS. 

Cane lands may be divided into three divisions, according to quality 
required for this i^urpose: 

First. The rich alluvial bottoms along the rivers. 

Second. Second bottoms somewhat remote from the rivers. 

Third. Fertile hill lands. 

The best cane lands produce 50 to 60 tons of cane per acre when 
virgin, and one planting will last ten to tw'elve years. After the land 
has been in cane four or five years the annual crop falls to 30 and 35 
tons, and finally to 20 tons. The productive power of the soil gradu- 
ally declines under the system of cultivation at present pursued. 

Twenty to 25 tons of cane per acre is now regarded as a fair crop 
on old land, and one planting will not continue profitable more than 
three years on an average. 

Second-class land yields on virgin soil 30 to 35 tons of cane per acre 
and must be replanted after three crops. When somewhat worn, 15 
to 20 tons of cane per acre is an average crop, and must be replanted 
the third season. 

Third-class lands produce about 20 to 25 tons of cane on virgin soil, 
and deterioriate within a few years below the point of j)rofitable cul- 
tivation. 

The extent of first-class sugar lands is quite limited in Porto Rico, 
and nearly all of it has been farmed for many years. The proprietor 
of one tract stated that it had been in cane continuously for ninety 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 13 

years without fertilization of the crop, a proof of the marvehnis })ro- 
duetive capacity of the soil. The growing? crop of cane looked as if 
it would yield 20 tons per acre. 

Cane Culture. 

Instead of planting in drills as in the United States, with the middle 
upon each side deeply furrowed for drainage, the Porto Rican method 
is to plant in doul)le rows of hills, allowing the rubbish from the canes 
of the previous crops to be windrowed between the rows of cane and 
alternating with the deeply plowed middles, thus i^lacing the drainage 
middles about 10 to 12 feet apart. The drainage middles are 5 to (3 feet 
wide, but those for piling the rubbish are narrower. This has some 
advantage over our plan and some disadvantages. It is of great bene- 
fit to the soil to allow the rubbish to decay upon it. It acts as a mulch 
and as a positive fertilizer. On the other hand, while our method of 
])urning the rubbish is wasteful of the fertilizer, it gives 1)etter drain- 
age by allowing a deeplj' plowed middle on each side of a row of cane. 
Cane planting is almost a continuous operation from l)eceml)ei- till 
July following, as canes are cut for the mill. On the 2d of July, near 
Arecibo, I saw trains of carts carrying cane to the sugar factor}', and 
as late as the 7th of Jul}^ a factory south of Mayaguez was still grind- 
ing cane. In both cases I was informed that the saccharine contents 
were very low — reduced bj^ the rains — and gave only about 130 pounds 
of sugar per ton of cane. 

The average period for maturing cane is one year, dating from the 
cutting of the previous crop. Where the planting for some excep- 
tional reason must be done as late as July, generally white cane is 
planted and allowed to stand till a year from the following Deceml)er 
before cutting, allowing eighteen months in which to mature. Ribbon 
cane, if allowed to stand so long, matures and cracks open, souring 
the juice. This long period is given to avoid cutting in the rainy 
season. 

Manufacture of Sugar. 

There are but few modern sugar mills in Porto Rico. Most of them 
have a single three-roller mill and are strictly upon the old open- 
kettle or Jamaica plan, using the dried bagasse under the kettles for 
fuel, and completing tlie i-eductiou in an open steam evaporator. 
Draining is accomplisljcd iji the usual way, i»i-odu(*ing a low to extra 
grade of muscovado sugar, according to the care taken. Little fuel 
in addition to the bagasse is required. 

Lai-ge plantei's have introduced steam train vacuum pans and cen- 
trifugals; a few have double mills, triple <'flFects, vacuum pans, etc. 
All defecate the juice with lime, but I found no filter i)resses, though 
I was informed tliat some were in use. Factories make from 140 to 
I'.iO pounds of sugar pci- ton of cane, accoi'ding fo pi-ocess jiursued. 
Only one factory was repoi'tcd as making 200 i)ounds. 

The progress of the sugar industiy may be noted by tlie following 
statistics: 

Equipment of sugar factories, 1888 and 1S98, 



Factory equipment. 


1888. 


1898. 




20 
HO 
286 






100 




100 







14 agricultural resources, etc., <>f i'orto rico. 

Molasses and Rum. 

Inferior inacliinery used in such a large numbei- of sugar factories 
leaves the molasses rich in sugar. Part of this is exported for reboil- 
ing in the United States; the remainder is manufactured into rum. 

In t897 the number of distilleries of rum was - . , 198 

In 1897 the number of distilleries of bay rum was . _ 28 

Gallons of rum distilled in 1897 _ 1,615,075 

Gallons of rum exported in 1897 - - 85, 252 

Gallons of rum consumed at home 1, 529, 823 

Gallons of baj^ rum manufactured 15, 143 

Gallons of bay rum exported 13, 843 

Gallons of bay rum consumed at home 1, 300 

Total export of molasses in 1897: 

Number of gallons _ 3, 543, 330 

Value. .- $291,906 

Value per gallon _ . .cents_ . 8, 2 

General Comments on the Sugar Industry. 

With United States markets and under Spanish conditions of labor 
in semiservitude, Porto Rican planters could make mone}' rapidly 
even Avitli existing methods ; but under American conditions of labor — 
i. e., labor under American laws — it is an even thing between the pro- 
duction of cane sugar in Porto Rico and cane sugar in the United 
States. The sugar estates in Porto Rico pay lower wages than those 
in the United States. They have a longer period in which to mature 
and manufacture their crop, with no danger of frost. The cane has a 
full year for growth and five months in which it can be ground under 
favorable conditions, as against nine months for growth and seventy- 
five days for manufacture in the United States. 

Labor, however, owing mainly to the primitive methods emj^loyed, 
accomplishes very little in a day in Porto Rico, and notwithstanding 
that men were paid only 50 cents a day, silver (worth 30 cents gold), it 
was expensive labor. It required 6 yoke of oxen and 3 men to plow 
three-fourths of an acre in a da}^ The oxen subsisted on grass with- 
out grain, could plow only half a day at a time, consequently 3 yoke 
were used in the forenoon and 3 in the afternoon. One of the most 
thorough planters in the island stated to me that he used 420 oxen to 
cultivate and harvest his cane crop — a little over 800 acres. He 
thought it would be economical to substitute mules. The farm work 
is universally done with oxen. No labor-saving machinery is employed 
in the cane shed or in the field. 

renovating crops. 

Sugar planters appear to have little knowledge of the importance and 
value of renovating crops. When a field has been in cane so long- 
that it is exhausted, the Porto Rican planter says "it is sick," or ''it 
is tired," and forthwith turns it out to common till it is recuperated. 
A system of rotating cane with corn and the free use of cowpeas 
(which grow luxuriantly) would soon restore the cane fields. One 
planter near Bayamon put some manure on his old field, and he reported 
a crop of 50 tons per acre last year. Improved implements, modern 
methods in handling cane fields, the substitution of mules for oxen, 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 15 

and better sugar machinery will enable the Porto liican faniuM- to 
compete with any country in llie world in tlie f^ugar industry. The 
available lauds I'oi- siiiiar are too limited iu Porto Kico, however suc- 
cessfully managed, to materially ad'eet the markets of the United 
States. Wages are certain to advance. In fact, since the substitu- 
tion of the gold standard, August 1, 1900, laborers are demanding 50 
cents per day in gold instead of silver, and some sugar planters have 
granted the advance. With better wages more sugar will be con- 
sumed in tlie island. If the Porto Rican lal)orer used as much sugar 
as the American, nearly the entire crop would be consumed at home 
and there would be little sugar for export. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 

Prior to the American occupation of the island the sugar industry 
was i ti a bankrupt condition, OAving to tlie low prices of sugar and other 
causes. ]\Iaiiy planters allowed their sugarhouses to go to decay, 
ami turned their cane fields into pastures. Of the 2G sugar estates 
in the district of Farjardo, l-l were idle and turned out for grazing in 
1898 — the year of our occupancy. Had they been i^rosperous they 
w^ould have beeu in cane that year. Further statistics show that about 
two-seventlis of the larger sugar estates of the island liad gone out of 
business. A few sugar estates, Avith capital and close management, 
were able to pay expenses and continue the business. For the ten 
3^ears prioi- to 1898 Porto Rico had marketed in the United States an 
average of over 80,000,000 pounds of sugar annually, at prices ranging 
from 1.7 cents to 2 cents per pound. The crop of 1899, though injured 
about 33 per cent by the hurricane, netted the planters more money 
than any crop for several years. They stated that they realized from 
3^ to 4 cents per pound, according to quality. It is estimated that 
the present crop will furnish about 80,000,000 pounds for export. 
The sugar industry is therefore in a flourishing condition. 

The Coffee Industry. 

The coffee plant is strictly a tropical evergreen, and, if left unpruned, 
attains a height of 20 to 30 feet. It should be headed low, so as to 
be more productive, and to make all i)arts easily accessible to the 
liicker. The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, oblong-ovate, dark green in 
color. The whole plant is fresh and attractive in appearance. The 
fruit is much like a cherry in form. Each beny contains Uvo seeds, 
sui-rounded by a thin, sweet pulp. The flat sui-faces of the two seeds 
are facing and are se])ai'ated by a thin layer of pulp, and also by a 
tough membi'ane or skin which enveloj^s each. Asthefruit a])proa('hes 
nuiturily the beny turns red, and later a dark i)urple. The plant 
recpiires good di-ainage. The tapi-oot penetrates to a depth of 3 to 5 
feet, and is injured if it reaches standing water. 

COFFEE CULTURE IN PORTO RICO. 

The favorite places selected for coffee plantations in Porto Rieo are 
narrow ravines on the sides of mountains, where on three sides the 
plant will be i)rotected from the wind. Plants are started in a seed 
bed and when 1 year old are transi)lanted into the field and set in 
rows 4 to 5 feet apart. In Porto Rico little attention is given the 
preparation of the soil, and no fertilizer is used. Very little pruning 



16 AGKICULTUEAL RESOUKCES, ETC., OF POllTO RICO. 

is done. Shade for the first five years is furnished by planting ])ananas 
between the coffee plants. Later guava trees furnish shade. On 
the coffee plantations I visited little attention had been paid to setting 
in rows to any exact distance apart. In many instances two plants 
had been set together, on the theory that one might die. Sufficient 
care was not taken to thin the bananas, so as to furnish the requisite 
amount of sunshine. The most reliable information I could obtain 
placed the average annual yield of coffee per acre at 100 to 400 pounds; 
but if the total product of coffee any year be divided by the number 
of acres given by the planters for assessment, it shows a product of 
430 pounds per acre for the entire island. Notoriously, however, the 
number of acres given for assessment Avas below the real number in 
crop, and consequently is not an exact guide. 

A coffee plantation should improve everj' yeav with increase in age 
for twenty-five to thirty years, and the annual product should average 
1,000 pounds per acre under cultivation. When it falls to 250 pounds, 
it shows faulty cultivation. 

The crop commences to ripen in the early fall, and is picked by hand 
at an average cost of half a cent (gold) per pound for the green fruit. 
There are tliree processes of curing. One exposes the rii^e berr^' to 
the sun till the pulp is desiccated, which requires several Aveeks. In 
the second process the berries are passed between the rollers of a 
"pulper," and reduced to a pulp, which is dried in the sun before 
removing the grain. By the third method, and the one generally 
used, the pulping process is followed by washing, to free the grains 
from the pulp. The grains are then dried and sent to the merchant's 
warehouse, or to the port, where the skin enveloping the grain is 
removed by machinerj^ and the grain polished. Mocha and Old Gov- 
ernment Java are prepared by the first process, which is considered 
to give a coffee of liigher flavor. The third process enables the planter 
to market his crop much earlier and with less labor. 

MARKETING THE CROP. 

Before placing coffee upon the general market it is graded bj^ selec- 
tion into six classes, known in the island by the following names, in 
order of quality: First, caracolillo; second, hacienda; third, pueblo; 
fourth, cubano; fifth, merinda; sixth, frilla. The quality of the better 
grades of Porto Rican coffee is excellent, and compares favorably with 
the best coffees of the world. Till the American occupation it was 
chiefly marketed in Europe, as shown by the following table for the 
year 1896: 

Exportation of coffee from Porto Rico for the year ISDd. 

Countries to which exported: - Founds. 

Spain ... - 16,405,900 

France -- ..11,306,68!) 

Germany . 8,120,409 

Italy 4,388,819 

Cuba .. - 15,577,710 

United kingdom -. 304,119 

Austria-Hungary 3,280,221 

UnitedStates 322,591 

Danish possessions 19, 595 

British possessions. 452 

Santo Domingo 22,501 

Total 58, 780, 006 



AGEICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. l7 

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COFFEE PLANTERS. 

All careful investigations show that when Porto Rico came under 
American control the financial condition of the coffee planters, in the 
aggregate, was about as bad as it could be. Of course there were 
some exceptions. A few wealthy merchants owned phintations, and 
some iDlanters were very thrift}^; but about 7<) to 75 per cent of the 
coffee plantations were heavily mortgaged, ^0 per cent or more being 
mortgaged to the full value of the i^lantations. To make clear how 
this occurred, the financial system under which coffee plantations 
were managed should be explained. It is well known in Louisiana as 
the system of "advances." At the commencement of the fiscal year 
the Porto Rican i)lanter arranged with some city merchant (provided 
the planter was not a merchant or a capitalist) to advance, him from 
time to time money and supplies sufficient to make his croj). He 
pledged his plantation and crop l)y mortgage, agreed to pay 12 to 18 
per cent interest, as the merchant might demand, and to turn over his 
crop, when harvested, to be sold at the option of the merchant. The 
planter received very little money and was charged a profit of 50 to 
75 per cent on all supplies. The merchant, if he found it necessary, 
could buy his goods in foreign ports on a year's time. The coffee 
planter opened a small store on his plantation and paid his laborers 
in orders on this store or gave duebills on some branch store of his 
merchant. Under this system it cost the planter 30 to 40 per cent for 
funds to make his crop, and at the end of the season he had no option 
as to price or time in disposing of his crop; the mei chant Avas the sole 
judge. Frequently the crop did not pay expenses; then a mortgage 
was retained, which increased from year to year till it absorbed the 
property. 

The testimony of Mr. Sasteria Francisca, before United States Com- 
missioner Carroll, November 1, 1898, is in point: 

Importations formerly were made on a half scale in Porto Rico— that is to say, 
were imuorted over and above the needs of the island, because the importers could 
get a years credit from Paris, London. t)r Hamburg commission houses. These 
merchants or importers, when they sold to smaller houses, charged them from the 
date of invoice one-half per cent interest [ monthly | outside of th(>ir commission on 
the merchandise shijiped, while they only paid their bankers at the rate of 4 per 
cent per year. Moreover, these importers sold that very merchandise on long 
terms to merchants in the interior, these terms extending as long as one year and 
a half in some cases, and generally sold at wholesale at higher prices than were 
paid by retail at the rates prevailing in the capital. These mercliants of the 
interior would do exar-tly the same things in turn with the smaller merchants of 
the country, selling to them on lon.u: terms, and charging them at least 1 per cent 
a month on the invoiced values, and often from 1 V to 2K per cent. 

This class of smaller merchants in the interior consists for the most part of cul- 
tivators, and it is a very important matter to be considered that these small culti- 
vators are charged at least JM per cent per annum ov( r and above any protit realized 
in any country in the world. The results of tliat system have been that at least 
oiie-^iuarterof the small proprietors in t lie island, buying in that way, in the period 
of five years have all lost their estates, the estates going into the hands of Spanish 
merchants who commenced selling goods on credit without any capital to speak 
of, and who after five or ten years have become worth .'JiO,!)!)!* and even $.")(1,000. 
The estates on which they held mortgages were unable to produce sufficient to pay 
back at the half rates that were collected. 

The evidence is to the effect that planters witli plenty of capital 
could make money in the coffee industry, but those wlio were obliged 
to borrow lost money. The Porto Rican coffee crop of the years 1892 
to 1896, inclusive, sold in foreign markets in cargo lots at over 14 cents 
per pound (gold). This liigh i)rice stimulated speculation in coffee 
plantations till they were rated at fabulous prices. In some cases 
H. Doc. 171 2 



18 AGRICULTUKAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

they \vei\^ quoted at 6ijOO (gold) p;^r acre for all the land in eofifee- 
bearing plants. Probably $150 to $-200 would be nearer a true aver- 
age. Many coffee estates were sold on long time at these high prices 
to planters. Small payments were made at the time of the purchase, 
and the uni)aid amounts were secured by mortgage at 12 per cent 
interest. The records of mortgages in Porto Rico show $15,GG4,971.69 
uncanceled mortgages on country property in 1898. By careful coni- 
j)arison of this with statements by bankers, it appears that the mort- 
giige indebtedness of coffee estates at that time was about 18,000,000. 
The total acreage of coffee reported for assessment was 122,389.76 
acres, which would make the indebtedness on coffee lands equal to 
$05. 4G on every acre in cultivation. If 30 per cent of the estatc^s were 
not mortgaged, as appeared evident, but were owned by capitalists, 
then the mortgage indebtedness on the remainder must have been 
$93.51 per acre, an amount altogether too large for a farmer to safely 
carry. The mortgage is purposely attached to the lands in coffee, 
for in coffee estates they are the onl}^ income-producing i^roperty. 
Under these conditions coffee planters were compelled to face a great 
decline in prices, owing to increased competition in the markets of the 
world and special clianges in the Porto Rican market arising from 
change of flag. 

Under such burdens the coffee planters entered upon the season 
of 1899 and secured such advances as they could to make the crop. 
August 8, 1899, a destructive hurricane visited all portions of the 
island, sweeping away many buildings and a large portion of the 
coffee crop, tearing up the trees used for shade for the coffee, and 
greatly damaging the coffee plants. This left the coffee planters with- 
out means to continue work, because it destroyed credit as well as 
property'. Had the planter jDOSsessed the capital to go immediately 
after the storm and clear away the debris, restore the buildings, and 
straighten up the coffee plants, the damage would largely have been 
limited to the partial loss of a crop; but not being able to do this, the 
loss in most cases amounted to the practical destruction of the planta- 
tion, which it will require five years to restore. In tropical countries 
the growth of grass, weeds, and vines is very rapid, converting the 
uncultivated coffee plantations in a few months into a jungle and 
destroying the trees. 

From 70 to 75 per cent of the coffee plantations are now seriously 
injured, and the value of all coffee lands has declined. In case of the 
abandonment of this large percentage of coffee plantations these lands 
will become nonproductive, except the slight value in grasses and 
brush. This will reduce the export products of the island, as coffee 
constituted about seven-tenths of the exports of the island, during 1895, 
1896, and 1897. In 1896 it amounted to 58,780,000 pounds and brought 
$8,505,665. Abandonment would mean death to many laborers, who 
could find no other immediate employment. If not to be abandoned, 
vigorou s stei3s should be taken to restore old plantations and set new ones. 

Can this be done profitably? Planters claim that it now costs 9 cents a 
pound on an average to make and market a crop of coffee; that if former 
methods are to be continued and Porto Rican coffee is to be sold 
in the United States in competition with the Rio, it is better to 
abandon coffee planting in Porto Rico. But it is not necessary to 
continue former methods. The average product per acre should be 
increased three or fourfold, which would reduce the cost of production 
below 5 cents per jjound. Tlie best coffee in the world should be pro- 
duced. Such coffees ought to average 14 to 20 cents per pound. This 
result could be accomplished at a nominal expense by the United States 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 19 

Depiirtineiit of aVgriculture throuixh an oxporimeiit station, experi- 
menting; in, and disseminating knowledge of, cofTee i)rodu(*tion. From 
this standpoint cotTee production in Porto Kico has a hopeful future. 

The Tobacco Industry. 

Tobacco, the third chief product of Porto Rico, does not labor under 
anysucli disadvantages as cotlee, as the loss of a crop can be repaired 
in one j^ear. Aside from the temporary loss by the hurricane, the 
chief difficulty of the tobacco industry is the change of markets. 
Formerl)^ a large percentage of the tobacco of Porto Rico Avas shipped 
to Cuba. This consisted of the better grade of " fillei's and wrap- 
pers." In 1895 the amount shipped to Cuba was 2,1(50,347 pounds, 
or nearly two-thirds of the entire crop exported. In Cuba it was 
manufactured and sold as Cuban product. Of the remainder, about 
1,000,000 pounds were manufactured and consumed at home. Of the 
balance, mainly low-gi-ade tobacco, 1,375, 751 pounds were sent to 
Spain and smaller lots to Germany, France, and otlier countries. 

In January, 1809, the Cuban tariff, imposing prohibitive dutes ($5 
per pound) on the Porto Rican product, went into effect, and the 
market for two-thirds of the crop Avas at once lost. The Spanish 
market was lost by change of flag, and tobacco was compelled to seek 
new markets. In this emergency the tobacco dealers met the difficul- 
ties by studying the markets of the United States and producing the 
qualities here demanded. Formerly they assorted their tobacco into 
three grades. Recently some liave employed Cuban experts and are 
making fifteen or sixteen grades. 

Rorto Rican tobacco produced near the coast is of a low grade, but 
in the interior valleys the tobacco is very superior and i-anks with 
Cuban where the seed, care, and curing have been similar. The hills 
near Cayey are dotted with immense sheds for curing tobacco. For- 
merly tobacco was grown in the valley only, later it was discovered 
that the hills produced a better grade than the vallej'^s. The plants 
are set in August or September, and the ci'op is harvested in April 
and jNIay. At the prop(u- time the stem of the tobacco plant is cut on 
the two-leaf plan and hung in the sheds for about fifty days. It is 
then taken down, stem remo\ed, and packed in a waiehouse. The 
average production is 400 to GOO pounds per acre. Afterwards it is 
assorted, which gives the country people employment. A nuxjority 
of the persons employed in the assorting were women, girls, and boys. 
Labor in the tobacco districts is noticeably better paid than in the 
coffee districts. As soon as it has been ascertained that Poi'to Rican 
tobacco and cigars can l)e profital)ly sold in tlie United States, there 
will be a large increase in the annual output, as codec planters will 
engage in the industrj^ to provide an income while they are restoring 
their coffee plantations. The following table .iiowsthe quantity and 
value of the tobacco exports for the eleven years preceding American 
occupation: 

Tobacco exports. Pounds 

1887 ... 7,633,000 

1888 3.347,000 

188!) 7,736,000 

18tl0. 3.984.000 

18<J1 5,2S7,000 

18i)2 4.207,000 

1893 4,208,000 

1894 3,370.000 

1895 .. 3,605.000 

1896 2.220.000 

189< ,.,.,, 6,253,953 



20 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

This table shows that tlie tobacco industry had been on the decline 
for nearly a decade. In 1897 it showed sudden increase, due doubt- 
less to the condition of the sugar and coffee industries. 

Minor Crops. 

Corn, rice, beans, i)otatoes, bananas, peanuts, citrus fruits, pine- 
apples, cocoanuts, vegetables, etc., are classed as minor crops. 
According to records, 93,511 acres are assessed as devoted to these 
products, the chief of which is corn. 

CORN. 

The climate, rainfall, and soil of Porto Rico indicate, upon the 
whole, a good country for corn. Farmers report a crop of (30 bushels 
upon virgin land of good quality and 20 to 25 bushels on old land. 
This is equal to the average crop in the corn belt of the United States. 
A further evidence of the corn-producing capacity of Porto Rico is 
shown by the exports. In 1897 Porto Rico exported to Cuba 4,246,776 
pounds of corn and 7,946 pounds of corn meal, and to Spain 30,133 
pounds of corn. No corn was imported that year, thus showing that 
Porto Rico produced more than sufficient for home consumption. It 
should also be taken into account that the interior of the island could 
furnish no portion of this surplus, because, with the exception of one 
military road, there were no roads in the interior on which it could be 
transported to the coast. With a better knowledge of the corn plant 
and the conditions requisite for its best yield we may expect large 
corn iiroducts in Porto Rico. 

RICE. 

In former years Porto Rico produced considerable rice, and the 
only reason why it might not again is that there is very little level 
land easily flooded except near the coast, and this can be more prof- 
itably devoted to sugar cane. On the mountain summits, where 
there is a surplus of rain during the rainy season, small fields are 
raised without flooding. Here, however, the mole cricket ( Gryllotalpa) 
attacks it and does considerable damage. It is probable that Porto 
Rico will continue to import the rice required by her people. The 
advance in rice at this time came inopportunely for Porto Rico, but 
it has increased the consumption of flour and corn meal. The annual 
importation of rice into Porto Rico will be seen from the following 
statistics : 

Imports of rice. Pounds. 

1894.. 72,674,540 

1895 74,145,046 

1896 70,76:3,249 

1897 77,994,122 

This is an average of over 73 pounds per capita. 

BEANS, SWEET POTATOES, AND BAN.\NAS. 

Beans are planted on farms for home consumption. The quality 
and yield are good. I was unable to obtain any data showing the 
amounts produced annuallj^, but from the crops observed the supply 
appeared entirely inadequate to the necessities of the people. The 
nutritious sweet potato flourishes in all portions of the island, but, 
like beans, the supply produced for home consumption is less than it 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 21 

should bo. It is a much more healthful article of food than iinrij)e 
bananas, and if supplied in abundance to the j)easants of the coffee 
district there would be greatei- health and vigor. 

Bananas are ordinarily produced in great abundance, because thej^ 
furnish the shade of the young coffee pbmts. They ai-e also grown 
for food without reference to coffee shade. They constitute the 
principal vegetable food of the laboring classes. The banana pos- 
sesses some advantages. The product per acre on rich land is enoi-- 
nious, yielding in some cases as much as 00,000 pounds of fruit. In 
well-cultivated orchards it is possible to have fruit most of the year, 
though it is more abundant atcertain seasons. The fruit should beeut 
before it is ripe and hung in a dark place till mellow. Some place it 
in a dirt house till mature; others simply cover it with dirt. In most 
tropical countries the ripening is neglected and the fruit is eaten in 
an immature state. It is usually cooked. A dwarf variety, known 
as Guineo fruit, about 4 inches long, is greatly prized. The skin is 
very thin, meat yellow and highly flavored. I observed a good manj^ 
stems that had failed to mature more than half a bunch of bananas, 
probably the result of a deficienc}" in fertility or moisture, oi- both. 
A little knowledge and care would easily remedy this defect. When 
a line of fruit steamers is established to Porto Rico bananas will 
constitute an important part of the exports. 

VEGETABLES. 

A visit to the markets does not give a favorable impression of the 
capacity of Porto Rico to produce vegetables. The cabbages for sale 
are very inferior in size and quality. Many are not more than 4 
inches in diameter, and not solid heads. The tomatoes usually range 
from 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Root crops ai-e in proportion. 
Watermelons offered are inferior in size and quality; the lettuce is 
small and bitter. An inspection of the gardens or fields where these 
vegetables are produced alToi-ds an entirely different view of the gar- 
den problem, ^'egetables are planted on land long in use, imperfectly 
tilled, without fertilizer, and turned over for further care to Provi- 
dence. The seeds in many instances are sown broadcast. Gardeners 
from south Florida, located near San Juan, .showed good i-esults. 
Their vegetables were not only of good size, but of excellent (piality. 
One gardener near Rio Piedras delivered in San Juan several loads 
of watermelons each weighing 50 pounds oi- over. His pi"oduce 
brought high prices. The following vegetables can be successfully 
raised : 

Vegetahlcfi irhicli can he raised in Porto Rico. 



Beans. 


Kenep. 


Peppers (green). 


Beets. 


Lettuce. 


Peas. 


(Jal)bage. 


Lentils. 


Pumpkins. 


Cassava. 


Lecbosa (species of musk- Radishes. 


Carrots. 


melon). 


Sesame. 


Celery. 


Mu.skmelons. 


Siiuash. 


Corn (sweet). 


Okra. 


String beans 


Corn (field). 


Onions. 


Tallote. 


(Cucumbers. 


Potatoes (sweet). 


Turnips. 


Eggplant. 


Potatoes (Irish). 


Tomatoes. 


Garlic. 


Peanuts. 


Watermelon. 


Gourds. 


Peppers (tabasco). 


Yams. 




ORANGES, LIMES, AND 


LEMONS. 



Porto Rico is well adapted to the growth of the orange. Here the 
tree is hardy, healthy, a rapid grower, a marvelous producer, and 



22 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

retains its vi2:or for many years. It develops its fruit perfectly, even 
in the wild state in the forest. In all parts of the island it is possible 
to find iiuuiy excellent locations for orange orchards. The planter 
can select such a conformation of hills as to protect liis orchard from 
prevailing winds. In soils he can take his choice between the rich, 
sandy loam, the fertile gravel (6 feet deep), and the porous clay loams. 
Lands for su(^h purposes can be purchased at from $o to $20 per acre 
near a good poi-t. At Majaguez I visited the fruit farm of F. G. Molina 
on the bay and photographed an orange tree 3 years old from setting. 
It was G inches in diameter at the base and about 18 feet high with 
branches 5 or 6 feet long, full of fruit. I also photographed a tree 5 
years old, which bore 5,000 oranges last crop, and another 7 years old, 
which bore 7,000 oranges. Mr. Molina sold his oranges at $3 per thou- 
sand f. o. b. ship for New York. 

What has been said of oranges applies equally to limes and lemons, 
except that lemons are produced solely by cultivation, and very little 
attention has been paid to them. 

SHADDOCK, GRAPE FRUIT, OR POMELO. 

The shaddock is in habit like the orange, grows 30 to 40 feet high, 
ornamental, globose or pyriform in shape, pale yellow in color, and 
produces a large subacid fruit, rather coarse, with thick rind. Speci- 
mens of this fruit sometimes weigh 10 pounds each and in rare cases 
15, It is a native of the Polynesian Islands, and was earl}^ brought to 
the West Indies. It is hardy in Porto Rico. 

Grape fruit, the best variety of the shaddock family, attains perfec- 
tion in Porto Rico. Conditions of growth are like those of the orange, 
except that it is more sensitive to frost, which makes it an unsafe 
product in the United States, onl}^ in the extreme south of Florida. 
This large, luscious fruit would be greatly appreciated in all portions 
of the United States if it could be placed on the market at a moderate 
price. With the low freight rates to New York, Porto Rico should 
supply this demand. 

MANGO. 

The mango is a luscious semiacid fruit, greatly prized in the Trop- 
ics. Its reliability as an annual product is one of its chief merits. It 
is valuable simply for home consumption. 

COCOANUTS. 

The cocoa palm is one of the most valuable trees produced in any 
country. It thrives on the sand dunes, valuable for little rise, near 
the seashore. The trees are from 50 to 90 feet high, and 100 to 1(50 
can stand upon an acre. When mature the trees produce an average 
of 150 nuts each annually. With due allowance the crop of an acre 
may be estimated at 10,000 nuts annually, worth $150 on shipboard. 
To gather the nuts, remove the fibrous shuck, and load costs $2.40 per 
1,000 nuts, or $24 total cost of crop per acre. The shuck is sold for 
matting material. Trees begin to bear at 5 years old and continue 
for about one hundred years. Every part of the tree is valuable. The 
hard portion of the trunk makes the celebrated porcupine wood; the 
leaves are used for baskets and thatching; the fibrous husk of the 
nuts is made into mats; the shell of the nuts is used for drinking 
cups, frequently ])eautifully carved; the nu\at is used for confec- 
tionery, and the water or liquor is an agreeable and healthful drink. 



AGRICULTUKAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 23 

PINEAPPLES. 

Pineapples are produced in all parts of Porto Rico with i>reat suc- 
cess at a trifling cost of labor. Eight to ton tliousau<l plants are set 
on an acre, and after the sets are well established no further care is 
taken. As a rule, after the plants are set they are neither hoed nor 
shaded, as in Florida. The ripe fruit weighs from '2 to 10 i)ounds per 
plant, and may l)e averaged at (J pounds. At 3 cents apiece the pine- 
apple crop is very prolitable. It is one of the most luscious of fruits 
when ripe, and if sold at i-easonable rates the United States will prove 
an unlimited market for it. In time ])ineapplcs should become as 
abundant and as clicap as ap])U's in oui- maiket. At Fajardo, San 
Juan, and Mayaguez small farmers are prepared to make large con- 
tracts for delivery to anyone establishing a canne^5^ 

GUAVA. 

The variety cultivated for the fruit is a small tree from !» to 15 feet 
high, with angular branches and an abundance of pointed, elliptical 
leaves. The fruit is about 1 inch in diameter, apple or pear-shaped, 
yellow, very fragrant, and filled with a yellowish or reddish pulp, sub- 
acid in flavor. It is an abundant bearer, and furnishes one of the best 
fruits known for the manufa(iture of jell3^ 

PEACHES, PEARS, FIGS, AND GRAPES. 

These fruits have not j'et been produced to any extent. Sample 
trees of the peach, of the Leconte and Keiffer pear, planted near Baya- 
mon, show excellent growth and vigor. There is apparentl}^' no rea- 
son why they should not become staple products. Figs are yet on 
trial. Thej^ do fairly well in some parts of the island. It is a ques- 
tion whether they have been given a fair trial. 

Few grapes are produced. Under Spanish rule grape culture was 
discouraged, because it might interfere with the wine industry of 
Spain. Wine is commonly used as a table drink in Porto Rico. In 
1897 the import of common wine was 4,314,473 liters (a liter is about 
a quart), at a cost of about 52 cents per liter. Mr. George Bird, of 
Fajai'do, stated to me that, his fatlier, on his return fi-om Spain some 
years since, brought from .Malaga a few of the ])est vai'ictics of grapes 
[)roduced there, and on trial tliey did better in Porto Rico than in 
Spain. IJy pruning he had produced in some j'ears four crops. 

List of fruit f< and 7ints jiroduccd in Poi'to Rico. 

Allipfator pear. Grosella. Orange. 

Almond. Grapefruit. Pa.iuil. 

Bread fruit. Grapes. Pineapple. 

IJanaiia. Gnava. Plantain. 

Cactus pear. Ivory nut. Raspberry. 

Cocoanut. Lemon. Ko-;o nppie. 

Cherry (tropical). Lime. Russet fruit. 

Cocoa plum. Mamee sapota. Shaddock. 

Chocolate bean. Mango. Souvsap. 

Cayoll (palm fruit). Mangosteeu. Strawberry (wild). 

Coffee. Mulberry. Tamarind fruit. 

Custard apple. Nutmeg (spice). 

Fruits (Did nuts that may sitfclij hr introduced. 

Blackberrj'. Strawberry. Japanese jiersimmon. 

•Japanese plum. KeifFer i)ear. Leconte pear. 

Olives. Pecan nut. Walnut. 



24 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

Stock Raising. 

Five conditions arc reqnisite to make an excellent stock countrj^: 

(1) Abundant grasses, of superior quality, and pasturage as nearly 
continuous as possible. 

(2) Pure and abundant water. 

(3) Equable climate. 

^4) Freedom from annoying insects. 

(5) Good markets. 

Porto Rico possesses all of these advantages in an eminent degree. 
As a grass-producing country it is unsurpassed. Its hills are covered 
with grama grass, corresponding for pasture to the mesquite grass 
and the buffalo grass of the United States. The cultivated grasses, 
guinea grass {Panicum maximum) and malojilla, are very nnlritious, 
and produce a large amount of forage per acre. Dr. Don Augustin 
Stahl states that 50 square meters of these grasses will sustain an ox 
or a horse, which would be equal to 81 horses or oxen per acre. This 
could scarcely hold good for the entire year. Twelve animals are 
probably nearer the average. Authentic cases are given where land 
set in guinea grass has produced 130 tons of green fodder per acre, 
equal to 32.5 tons of hay. Cattle and horses in the working season 
rarely receive any other food than these grasses, cut and fed in a 
manger under shelter. 

The creeks and rivers have sufficient current to keep the water pure, 
and springs are plentiful in the mountains. The w^eather is alwa3^s 
cool, mornings and evenings, when the stock is grazing. Flies and 
mos(iuitoes are about the same as in the higher portions of the South- 
ern States. Cuba and St. Thomas take all surplus stock at good 
prices. The horses are the exact type of those descended from Span- 
ish stock in the prairie sections of Louisiana, Yery small but full of 
energy. The foundation was evidently of the best Arabian stock, but 
now greatly deteriorated. 

The cattle are also of Spanish stock, but liave been crossed more or 
less with Senegambian males, adding something to the size and fat- 
tening properties, but reducing their value for milk. 

Some sheep are kept, but the industry has not been a great success. 
There is too much rain in the highlands. Goats are common in all 
parts of the island, and with a better stock might be made the basis of 
an industry of much profit. 

Comparatively few swine are raised. Possibly the absence of fences 
is the cause. With small fields of cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts, 
aiid sorghum it ought to be possible to raise hogs at a nominal cost, 
and the market is excellent. 

The small amount of poultry kept is a perpetual surprise. One may 
travel for miles in the country without finding a good flock of chickens. 
Most of those raised are inferior in size and (piality. The eggs are 
small and lack in flavor, but the price is large enough — 3G cents per 
dozen. Chickens sell at 40 to 75 cents each. Investigations show 
that there is little reason why chickens should not be produced in 
great abundance. 

Farm Wages. 

The usual hours of work in the field are from 6 to G. A majority of 
the field hands commence work in the morning without having eaten 
anything. A few take early cofi'ee. At 11 o'clock half an hour is 
given for breakfast. Breakfast consists of rice and beans, bread and 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCP:S, ETC., OB^ PORTO RICO, 2o 

cheese, or sweet potatoes and fisli. Where the plantation boards the 
hands, as sometimes occurs in the sugar-harvest season, board con- 
sists in fui-nishing dail}' one-lialf pound of rice and one-fourth pound 
of beans, or ;] pounds of sweet potatoes and luilf a pound of fish 
(dried), or 1 pound of bread and one-foui-th of a pound of clieese. 
The laborers on coffee estates rarely eat meat, except on Sunday. 
Many laborers eat nothing till the close of the day. 

The customary wages were 30 cents (gold) per day prior to the 
changes in currency, but, instead of money, in most cases the paj'- 
ment was made by giving an order on the store, which i-educed the 
value at least 38 per cent. In coffee-picking time the women were 
able to earn 15 to 25 cents j^er day. Coffee planters aiv generally lib- 
eral in allowing tlu;ir laborers to use tlie bananas on the farm, and in 
giving them the use of small tracts for vegetables if they will use them. 
The laborei's complained that they had no time to make a garden. 
Many laborers Avere unemployed in the coffee districts because the 
plantations were uncultivated and had remained so since the hurri- 
cane of last yeai'. In the tobacco and sugar districts labor was in a 
much better condition. Tobacco culture gives nioi-e emphn'ment to 
women and children. On the sugar plantations higher wages have 
usually been paid during sugar making, which continues for four or 
five months. This better condition is shown more by the personal 
appearance of the laborei's than Iw improvement in their houses and 
liome surroundings. The constant efforts of the insular government 
since the island came under American control have been directed to 
the relief of the labor situation. 

(1) All personal taxes have been removed from laborers. 

(2) The oppressive consumers' taxes on food and articles of neces- 
sity have been abolished. 

(3) The change of the monej" standard, which took effect August 1, 
1900, has benefited lal^or. In many cases laborers are now receiving 
in gold what they formerlj^ received in silver. 

(-1) Thousands of lal)orers in the coffee districts have been given 
erajiloymejit on the public roads now in process of construction by the 
insular government. 

(5) The Porto Kican tariff on flour, corn, and rice was formerly very 
high; now they are admitted free. 

(6) IndirectljMabor has been benefited bj^ the removal of the ex|ioi-t 
taxes on sugar, coffee, and tobacco, and by the repeal of the law levy- 
ing royal dues and taxes on importing agricultural implements. 

Character ok the Laboring Cl.\sses. 

The laboring classes have surprisingly active minds, considering 
the conditions under which they have lived. Tliey are mechanically 
inclined, kindly disposed, and respond readily to fair treatment. 
Witli ()pi)oi'tuiiities and reasonal)le eneoui-agement they will rai)idly 
improve. Many American employei's of Porto Kican laboi-ei's gave a 
very encouraging report of their industry and faithfulness. It was 
gratifying to note the desii-o to be self-suppoiling. The Women's 
Aid Society of Porto Rico gives partial employment to about 400 poor 
women, many of wliom are from the country. Garments aie given to 
the very poor. Only 3 per cent of the women emi)loyed, however, 
accept alms, preferring to pay for their garments by installments at 
the rate of 5 cents per week. Their average earnings are 15 cents per 
week. 



26 AGRICULTURAL RESOUKCJilS, ETC., OF PORTO EICO. 

Depression in Agriculture. 

Many persons are nnder the impression that the agricultnral indus- 
tries of Porto Rico were prosperous under Spain, and that theirdecline 
is due to bad management upon our iiart and to the hurricane of 
August 8, 1899. The American flag was not formally raised over the 
island till October, 1898. Almost immediately evidence was taken set- 
ting forth the condition of agriculture. This evidence conclusively 
establishes the fact that, while the income of the coffee farms was con- 
siderable, the profits did not go into the hands of the tillers of the soil, 
but went to enrich the cajoitalist, who in many cases returned to Spain 
in a few years to enjoy his wealth. Blocks of stately buildings in Bar- 
celona and other Spanish cities are shown the ti'aveler which were 
built with the profits obtained from the products of Porto Rican farms. 

The conditions uj)on which the coffee planters secured loans to make 
their crops is proof that the coffee industry had not been prospering 
as it should. But there is plenty of direct proof taken prior to the 
hurricane, and all to the same effect. 

Seiior Luis Cenal, of Fajardo, stated on November 6, 1898: 

The abandoned cane estates are run to pasture, but as this is not making proper 
use of the land it can he calculated that 75 per cent of the district is. properly 
speaking, unproductive. 

November 7, 1898, Mayor Eustaquio Torres, of Guyanilla stated: 

Agriculture, which has been languishing and has been impoverished, is over- 
whelmed by enormous tributes, wanting facilities afforded by an agricultural 
bank, and fighting an unequal fight with the merchants, owing to the iaet that 
the difficulties of the money system clo-es to it foreign and national markets. 
From this cause originates the general depression of the country, especially o'i the 
laboring class. This cla^s does not earn enough to buy food, and its ranlis 
are being swelled enormously by small proprietors, who, wanting in means to till 
their small farms, are obliged to sell them. That is the reason why public wealth 
is concentrated in the hands of a few capitalists in each t >wn. and also why so 
many uncultivated lands are seen, their owners, owing to their great extent, not 
being able to give them attention. 

The above evidence was taken before Dr. 11. K. Carroll, commis- 
sioner; and evidence was placed before me jiroving that the sugar inter- 
ests had scarcely paid expenses for the ten years prior to 1899. 

Causes of Depression in Agriculture. 

It is pertinent to inquire the causes of the decline of agriculture 
under Spanish rule. They may be summarized as follows : 

(1) The system of credit or "advances" — explained under head of 
"coffee." 

(2) The manufactures necessary to obtain full value of farm crops 
discouraged. 

(o) Farms taxed for benefit of cities. 
(4^ Tendency to build up large farms. 
(5) The consumption tax on food. 
(G) Laws favoring the merchant class. 

(7) No country roads; cost of transportation excessive. In soisu' 
cases it costs 11,25 to transport 100 pounds 5 miles. 

(8) Economic conditions bad. Little agricultural machinery and 
few implements used on account of excessive import duties; labor 
depressed and unable to do good work. 

(9) Landlordism. Farms fell into the hands of town and city peo- 
ple who knew little of farming. Many farmers were so involved that 
they could not control the management of their farms. 



AGEICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 27 

(10) Too narrow a range of agricultural production. Tlio agricul- 
tural products imi)orted amounted to about five-elevenths of the total 
imports. In 1895 the agricultural products imported amounted to 
$7,171,352 (gold), and the total nonagricultural to $9,044,101, or 42.00 
per cent of the former to 57.40 f)er cent of the latter. The total 
exports of native products in 1895 were 115,190,850, of which amount 
$14,573,300 were agricultural. Tersely stated, they impoi-lcd 50 et^nts' 
worth of rice, floui-, fish, etc., for subsistence 1o enable them to pro- 
duce one dollar's woi-th of sugar, coffee, and tobacco for export. If 
1 here was any failure in the dollar crop, monej^ must be borrowed to 
pay the 50 cents. 

(11) No agricultural schools nor journals to disseminate knowledge 
upon agricultural subjects, without which no nation has taken front 
rank in agriculture. 

Effects of such C^oxditions. 

The consumption tax was a tax levied by towns and cities upon the 
necessities of life, such as maize, rice, lard, sugar, fiour, silk, char- 
coal (used for cooking), i^etroleum, etc. It was not placed on dry 
goods, jewehy, and similar articles. This tax Avas very heavy, as the 
following will illustrate: 

Consumption 
tax (silver). 

Muscovado sugar per cwt.. $2.00 

Flour. do .. 1. 25 

Rice do... 2.25 

This tax was far-reaching in its effect. It not only nearly doubled 
the cost of living, but it prevented the establishment of small farms 
in the vicinitj'of cities, because tlie farmer must provide foi' the con- 
sumption tax before he could sell. This was practically pr<)hil)itory. 

The effect of landlordism is to obtain the largest present revenue 
from the land possible, regardless of the future. To this may be 
charged the complete destruction of all the timber within merchant- 
able distance of any good road or any market. Pi-esent fei-tility of 
soil is taxed to the utmost at the expense of future production. 
Improvements are cheai) and rude. 

Under such conditions it was only a question of time when general 
bankruptcy must be forced on the producers. It was certain to fol- 
low any general failure of crops, anj^ great decline in prices or radical 
change in the character of the markets, or any monetary crisis whieh 
should destroy credit. Unfortunately for Porto Rico, all tliese things 
occurred at once. Change of flag necessitated new markets for a 
majority of her staples, the luirricane desti-oyed most of the ci-op in 
1899, and credit to planters was totally witiidiawn. The hurricane 
was a ci'owning calamity. It swept away not only croi)s, but the 
improvements, and (k'vastated the island in all i)ortions to an amount 
scarcely to be estimated. While it visited the coffee plantations with 
special violence, it left its wreckage marks on every sugar plantation 
in the island. 

How Can Depression in Agriculture be Relieved? 

I have stated the condition of agriculture and the cause of its decline 
somewhat fully in ordei- to point out clearly the relief. It is evident 
that the only immediate relief that can be afforded the agricultural 
interests in Porto Rico must be provided through the established lines 



28 AGRICULTUKAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

of industry — sugar, tobacco, and coffee. While immediate steps 
should be taken greatly to increase the number of profitable agricul- 
tural industries, such changes can only be effected gradually and 
should be regarded rather as part of a wise economic policy for the 
future than as a measure to afford the immediate relief required. All 
the farm labor of the island was formerly given employment. The insuf- 
ficiencj^ of employment now arises chiefly from the prostration of the 
coffee farms. While the sugar and tobacco industries will provide 
about the normal amount of labor the present year, they can be greatly 
strengthened financially. Better drainage, the use of renovating 
crops, and a judicious sj^stem of crop rotation will enormously increase 
the product per acre, and more improved niachinerj^ Avill add largely 
to the sugar product. 

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND EXPERIMENTS. 

These improvements require scientific inquiry and experiments 
along practical lines. These experiments, to be of assured value, must 
be made upon Porto Rican soil. The tobacco industrj^ comes nearer 
being able to sustain itself and ijrovide for future improvement than 
the other industries. This, however, applies more to the large plant- 
ers and nianufacturers than to the small producers, who at least need 
instruction. Few crops require moi-e technical knowledge and skill 
in production and manufacture than tobacco. The i^roduction of the 
best varieties is a fine art and is complicated by fashion, which differs 
in different markets. AVhat is a very high grade in one market is a 
low grade in another, and small producers can not investigate meth- 
ods as adapted to markets. 

HOME PRODUCTION OF FOOD. 

A further means of improving agricultural conditions is for all the 
sugar, coffee, and tobacco iDlantations to produce a variety of food 
crops sufficient for their employees, and for each employee who is the 
head of a family to produce the food for his household. This should 
be a cardinal principle adopted by all planters. For an island as 
fertile as Porto Rico to import annually 50 cents' worth of alimentary 
products in order to export one dollar's worth of sugar, coffee, and 
tobacco is an unsafe policy and should be discontinued at once. 

INCREASE OF SMALL FARMS. 

Naturally when a large number of small farms fell into the hands 
of the capitalist he consolidated them and placed them under one 
administration. If it was not convenient to work them, they were 
grazed, reducing the demand for labor. 

The number of small farms should be greatly increased and their 
products diversified to the limit of profit. The fruit and nut crop in 
ten years should exceed the combined annual export of all farm crops 
at this date. Winter vegetables, poultry, and dairy products should 
form large items in the export columns. 

INDUSTRIAL VILLAGES. 

The early establishment of a number of minor industries closely 
related to agriculture is of vital importance to future prosperity. The 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF POKTO RICO. 



29 



object of such industries is to give profitHl)ie einployinent to the wives 
and children of farm laborers, so that the earning ability of the home 
may be doubled and in some cases quadrupled. Under such conditions, 
if the head of the family fails for any cause to earn his wage, the 
home goes on; tlie earning capacity is lessened, but the home is not 
destroyed. This has its moral as well as economic bearing. Many 
philanthropic Porto Ricans suggested that tlie farm laborers on the 
cotfeeand tobacco i^lantations scattered upon the mountains, without 
roads, society, or schools, children nude and semiwild, could never 
derive the full advantages of free education and be influenced by the 
elevation of society until they were gatliered into small villages and 
became amenable to society. In a republic this can not be done by 
force, but once establish small industrial villages in tlie country and 
the small, scattered mountain population will be attracted to the vil- 
lage by its superior earning capacity and its advantages for schools, 
society, and better living. This will be no deti-iment to the farms, 
because the village laborers will be within reacli of every farm. The 
industrial village where all are workers, is fundamental in Japanese 
civilization. The manufacture of hats, straw goods, and matting, the 
production of raw silk, and the canning of tropical fruits are examjiles 
of the employments in question. 

BETTER HOMES. 



It is of vital importance to the future prosperity of Porto Rico that 
there should l)e a great improvement in the homes of the farm laborers, 
better houses, and more comforts. To this end a larger and more 
comfortable house must be devised that will be within the means of 
the laborer to build. This can be done with a slight addition of the 
labor expended upon it. In this connection the necessity of encour- 
aging the planting of trees for building purposes is apparent. 

Present Agricultural Resources and Possibilities op Porto 

Rico. 



The exports of Porto Rico for the liscal year ending June IJO, 
may be estimated as follows: 



LItoi, 



Estimaied exjwrts of Porto Rico for 1001. 



Articles. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Sugar 


80,000,000 


$3,000,000 

300,000 

1,00(J,000 

5,5(6,7ftJ 

800,000 


Molassos . . . ... 




5,000.000 
25,000,000 


Coffee 


Other exports 








Total 


10,806,768 










Notk: The total exports for 1897 were $11,011,534. 

" The sugar crop of 1900 will be less than normal, but, by reason of 
the better price, will bring consideral)ly more money. 'Fhe tobacco 
crop is placed at normal, and the coffee crop at AO per cent of normal. 
It will be seen that the estimated exports of the fiscal year ending 
June 1, 1901, are only !^405,7<J2 below those of 1897, the last year of 
Spanish pos.session, regardless of the destruction of the h u rricane, Avhich 
reduced the coffee export about ^5,500,000. The farmers have given 



30 ArxRICULTURAL RESOUKCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

more attention this year to tlie production of food crops. It may, 
therefore, be fairly claimed that, as a whole, the net income of Porto 
Rico from farm crops Avill be about the same as usual; but this will 
not relieve the distress, because it will not be as widely distributed 
as formerly, the deficiencj^ occurring in the coffee districts. 

Possibilities of Ac4riculture in Porto Rico. 

As to the possibilities of agriculture in Porto Rico I submit 1-he 
following statement: 

The United States imported in 1899, in addition to the im[»orts of 
sugar, coffee, and tobacco, the following: 

Fibers (vegetable) , manufactures of, including mattings, etc $45, 457, 687 

Nuts and fruits 18,317,201 

Silk, unmanufactured 33,479,627 

Total 96,254,515 

The industries of Porto Rico, properly developed, could produce 
a large portion of the foregoing without interfering with her present 
exports. In addition, it could ijroduce camphor, India rubber, spices, 
and other articles of which we import large quantities. Thrifty speci- 
mens of India rubber plants and of camphor plants were seen. In 
ease of such an expansion in the production of tropical products, 
Porto Rico would become a large consumer of the food products 
exported by the United States, which Avould be greatly to our trade 
advantage over the present j)lan of securing these articles. No por- 
tion of Porto Rico is over 20 miles from the coast, and with good 
roads all produ(^ts could reach an ocean port in a few hours and by 
the conveyances of the farm. The transportation from the ports to 
New York is low and with increased freights will be much reduced. 
A few thousand dollars judiciously expended annually in the devel- 
opment of the agricultural i-esources of Porto Rico will result greatly 
to our benefit, because we shall then be buying our troiiical imports 
with our surplus products. 

The appended list sIioavs some articles, and their values, of imj^ort 
into the United States in 1899, all, or a portion of which, could be 
profitably produced in Porto Rico : 

Articles imported into the United States uiliich miglit he produced in Porto Rico. 

Cocoa and the manufactures of $5,360,116 

Coffee 55,275,470 

Fibers, vegetable, and manufactures of 45, 457, 687 

Fruits and nuts - 18,317,201 

Hats and bonnets, materials for 2, 426, 726 

India rubber and gutta-percha and manufactures of 32, 370, 098 

Molasses 789, 576 

Silk, unmanufactured 32,479,627 

Spices 2,782,301 

Sugar... 94.964,120 

Tea.. 9,675,081 

Tobacco and manufactures of ._ 11,843,357 

Vanilla bean 1,235,412 

Total 312,976,771 

An .^Vgricultural Experiment Station. 

The most potent factor in accomplishing the improvement of agri- 
culture would be a properly equipped agricultural experiment station. 



AGRirULTTTKAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF P(niTO RICO. 31 

with a wider ran.ue of iiivestig-ation and ai)i)licati()ii than is usually 
<>iven to sucli institutions. 

First. Such a station should give immediate attention to the pro- 
duction of larger and better crops of coffee, sugar, and tobacco, at a 
less cost than at present. 

Second. It should encourage the production of food products to 
the extent of home consumption. 

Third. It should promote the establishment of small farms for fruit 
and vegetables. 

Fourth. As soon as pi-acticable it should prosecute investigations 
that will lead to the improvement of farm stock with special refei-ence 
to the requirements of the farms for work animals and of the markets 
for beef and dairy products. There is no good reason why Porto Rico 
should import 743,5(J0 pounds of cheese annually at a cost of if). 4 
cents pci- pound when tliere is an abundant supply of sweet grasses 
and rich milk on the island. 

Fifth. The station should diligently prosecute investigations in for- 
estry to reestablish the woodlands. 

Sixth. It should be especially empoAvered and charged to introduce 
minor industries foi' the betterment of the families of farm laborers. 

Seventh. An imioortant part of the station work should be the 
introduction of new varieties of seeds, plants, trees, and animals 
which are adapted to the climate and conditions found in Porto Rico; 
also to see that the best seeds and fertilizers are sold to farmers. For 
any country to fail to keep a watchful eye on the progress of other 
countries and take advantage of their natural resources and the 
improvements they have made in the products of the soil is to fall 
behind in the race of life and publicly acknowledge a lack of enter- 
prise. 

OBJECT LESSONS. 

It will be necessary to place the work of the station mainly in the 
form of object lessons and on a sufficient scale to show economic 
results. This will require more land than would be sufficient to 
establish theories or principles in agriculture. 

■"l'© carry out the plan of th(> station the earnest cooperation of the 
farmers should be secured by local associations and otherwise. The 
station should issue bulletins at regular periods, and the officers of 
the station should meet the local association for discussion of agricul- 
tural topics at least once a year. At the same time schools for women 
could be lield, giving instruction in various home industries suited to 
their condition. 

DESIRABILITY oK SECURING THE COOPERATION OP PORTO RICAN 
FARMERS IN EXPERIMENT WORK. 

It is highly important to secure the active cooperation of the farmers 
in invest igations of the station and in the dissemination of information. 
The best plan is to organize local associations of farmers in every im- 
portant i-ural center in the island who will cooperate in testing seeds, 
plants, an<l methods of cultivatio.n and aid in disli'il»uting bulletins, 
l)amphlets, etc. In nearly every communit}' can be found planters 
of liberal education and travel. Some were educated in the United 
States and can speak English. As far as consulted, all planters were 
enthusiastically in symijath}- with the proposed work of the station. 



32 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., OF PORTO RICO. 

INSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURE IN THE COMMON SCHOOLS. 

A few simple oral lessons on the nature of seeds and plants, how to 
prepare the soil, and how to x^lant and care for the crop, with some 
small plats around the schoolhouse as object lessons, would be of in- 
estimable value to the youth and far-reaching in its results. Many 
of the lower classes in the country appear to have no knowledge of- 
the principles of agriculture or of its successful practice. They half 
stir the soil, sow the garden seeds broadcast, and let Providence do 
the weeding. The commissioner of education for the island expressed 
a desire to do all in his power to i^romote agricultural education in 
the common schools. 

LOCATION OF THE STATION. 

There are a number of reasons why the experiment station should 
be located near San Juan. 

First. It is the opinion of all who have investigated the subject that 
object lessons under farm conditions should form an essential feature 
of the station. It must, then, be at the place most accessible for the 
people of the whole island and for persons temj)orarily visiting the 
island. 

Second. The station must be located where it can have direct and 
prompt communication with the Department of Agriculture at Wash- 
ington, because for some years it will not have equipment to do all 
the scientific work required, and reference must be constantly had to 
the several departments at Washington. 

Third. San Juan is the only cit^^ upon the island which has printing 
establishments sufficiently equipped to issue bulletins in English and 
Spanish with reasonable facilitj^ 

Fourth. Lands near San Juan can be i)urcliased at reasonable prices. 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE STATION. 

For the current expenses of an agricultural experiment station in 
Porto Rico at least as much money will annually be required as is now 
appropriated for such stations in the States and Territories ($15,000). 
The cost of the buildings needed by the station is estimated as follows: 

One building for director and assistants $5, 000 

One huilding for offices and laboratory 3, 000 

One house for farm foreman . -. - 1, 000 

Four cottages for farm laborers , 800 

Barns 1,000 

Total _ --.10,800 

Suitable land in the vicinity of San Juan will probably cost $25 per 
acre, and at least 200 acres should be obtained for the station there, 
for the purchase of which $5,000 will be required. For outlying experi- 
ments Government land on the island may be reserved. These reser- 
vations should include alluvial or level lands for sugar and rice, 
mountain lands for forestry, tobacco, and coffee, and sandy sea-coast 
lands for cocoanuts. 

o 



House Doc. No. 171. 



Plate I. 




Gathering Cocoanuts. 



Plate II. 







4^' / -.i 



Plowing for Sugar Cane. 




t 



Hauling Cane to Mill. 




Cane Mill. 




i: I 



•4 **^ i^'/ -''V 



«c2/3«-'^- i'^ '•-; -•.*.•» -!--.X^» ,to»i»>fa' Y.- ^--^^il^i 



Spreading Bagasse to Dry. 



House Doc. No. 171 




Exporting Sugar. 




Hauling Molasses to Market. 



House Doc. No. 171 



Plate V. 




Sugar Planter's House, Arecibo. 




LABORER'S Hut. near Carmen. 



House Doc. No. 171 



Plate VI. 




Three-year-old Orange Trees. 




LABORER'S Hut. Coffee Plant^ti 



House Doc. No 171 



Plate VII 




1906 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



Hi 



002 693 889 2 % 



